Which comes first.

**kork13** · 09-22-2013, 11:47 AM

Basic emergency fund (~1 month's worth), then retirement to the extent of any employer match, then 6 month EF, then retirement savings up to 15% of gross.

(my personal philosophy)

**scfr** · 09-22-2013, 12:03 PM

EF - If it is never needed, it becomes part of your retirement savings eventually, so you are potentially snaring 2 birds with 1 net.

**bjl584** · 09-23-2013, 05:11 AM

I'd say at least some form of an EF should be saved first. Not the entire 3 to 6 months worth, but at least 1 months worth before starting on retirement savings.

**MonkeyMama** · 09-23-2013, 05:37 AM

I'd say equal. IF not equal, kill two birds with one stone, like scfr mentions. (We've actually been blessed to never need EF. If we save increased amounts for certain times in our lives, has always been redirected to retirement or other savings goals when we didn't need it).

**Blessed** · 09-23-2013, 09:13 AM

EF first in my opinion. You can tap your EF penalty free if you need it. You can not tap retirement penalty free if you get in a bind unless you are 59.5.

**KTP** · 09-23-2013, 12:05 PM

Originally posted by Blessed View Post

EF first in my opinion. You can tap your EF penalty free if you need it. You can not tap retirement penalty free if you get in a bind unless you are 59.5.

Not really true. You can take out a loan on 401K in some situations and you can usually withdraw contributions (not gains) in a Roth IRA without penalty before age 59.

**MatthewC** · 09-26-2013, 07:00 AM

Definitely an emergency fund.

Also, for retirement, a lot of people say stuff like 15%-20% of your earnings per year. However, what you should have is a plan based on how fast you expect your total investments to compound at. 15% of a minimum wage job will not get you to a comfortable retirement. 15% of a 50k income might get you to a comfortable retirement depending on how you invest it and if you get started early enough.

One thing that people should know is how much having a good plan can affect what you end up with. A good plan can help make up for having a low paycheck, especially if you start putting away for retirement very early. (The extra years of compounding make a big difference.)

Which comes first.